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D23 Expo
The D23 Expo is a biennial convention run by The Walt Disney Company, originally billed as "The Ultimate Disney Fan Experience" (later changed to "The Ultimate Disney Fan Event"). The first Expo was held in Anaheim, California, from September 10-13, 2009. D23 is "The Official Disney Fan Club", founded in March 2009. The "D" stands for Disney, and "23" represents 1923, the year that Walt Disney arrived in California and founded what would ultimately become The Walt Disney Company. D23 also holds smaller fan events for its members throughout the year, separate from the expo, and publishes a magazine called Disney twenty-three. D23 Expo 2009 Disney Movie Magic On Friday, September 11, the Muppets made a surprise appearance on the Mark Twain Riverboat (a smaller replica of the Disneyland attraction) during the "Disney Movie Magic: Inside the Disney Studios" arena presentation. It was announced that they were working on a new movie, The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made! (later set aside in favor of ''The Muppets''). The Muppets performed "Rainbow Connection," preceded by Pepe singing "Prince Ali" from Aladdin.The Muppet Mindset: BREAKING NEWS from The Disney23 Expo! (September 12, 2009) Appearing on the riverboat were Kermit the Frog, Fozzie, Pepe, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, Animal, Janice, Floyd, Dr. Teeth, Zoot, Beaker, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Scooter, Rizzo the Rat, Lew Zealand, Robin, Penguins, Chickens, with Sweetums standing beside the boat. Statler and Waldorf appeared after the number shouting, "We want Grumpy!" Johnny Depp, in full costume as Pirates of the Caribbean character Captain Jack Sparrow, made a surprise appearance at the end of the presentation. Jack said that he'd like a snack, and asked where that nice frog was who'd been on stage earlier -- "he probably tastes like chicken."Boucher, Geoff. "Johnny Depp (in Jack Sparrow costume) surprises Disney D23 Expo audience", LA Times blog. September 11, 2009 (archived) Media highlights reel of presentation; ) Image:D23-closeup.jpg|The Muppets at the 2009 D23 Expo Image:Riverboat-pepe.jpg Image:Riverboat-piggy.jpg The Muppets Presentation The Muppets were scheduled to appear at a special presentation by The Muppets Studio on Sunday, September 13. Before entering the venue, each of the attendees received a raffle ticket, and throughout the presentation, various pieces of Muppet merchandise were raffled off. The presentation, hosted by Lylle Breier, detailed some of the future plans for the Muppets. Pepe the King Prawn, Sam the Eagle, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear and the Swedish Chef appeared. (End of presentation clip: ) Projects announced included:ToughPigs - Muppets at D23: Movies, DVDs, and Merchandise News! (September 14, 2009)The Muppet Newsflash - The Muppets at D23 (September 17, 2009)The Muppet Mindset - D23 Update: Special Muppets Presentation (September 13, 2009) * The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made! (later set aside in favor of The Muppets) * A Muppet Halloween special for Halloween 2010 (later postponed,With new merch & a new movie in the pipeline, there's no stopping the Muppets now Jim Hill Media (April 29, 2010) then cancelled). * An online cooking show with Cat Cora for Fall 2009 (later released Fall 2010) * More viral Muppet videos for 2010 * Updates to Muppet*Vision 3D and Muppet Mobile Lab, plus the creation of a mobile unit for The Electric Mayhem for the Disney parks * Expansion and updates to The Muppet Whatnot Workshop, including new Whatnot parts and workshops in the Disney parks (expansion into the Disney parks has yet to occur) * The Muppets Revisited album coming in 2010 (later retitled The Green Album and released in 2011) * The Muppet Show: Season Four and Studio DC: Almost Live on DVD in 2010 (The release of season four was later pushed back) * A From the Balcony book by Statler and Waldorf (never produced) * The "Green and Lovin' It" line of products at the Disney Store * Steiff plush dolls * Vinylmation figures * Pook-a-Looz dolls * Muppet Halloween costumes * New Muppet iPhone Apps and Mobile Comics * Television appearances on upcoming episodes of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition", "America's Funniest Home Videos", "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon", and ABC's "Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade" * Kermit at the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade * Collaboration with Andrea Bocelli on Bocelli's Christmas album My Christmas, and on Andrea Bocelli & David Foster: My Christmas After the presentation, everyone in attendance received a Muppet Myzos bracelet and could wait in line to meet Fozzie, Gonzo, and Pepe, and have their pictures taken with them. Image:Iphone-gonzo.jpg|Promotional slides for iPhones Apps that were planned at the time, but never produced; Gonzo Grams... Image:Iphone-pepe.jpg|... Pepe's Love Meter... Image:Iphone-statlerwaldorf.jpg|... and Statler and Waldorf Theatre. Image:Samd23.jpg|Sam addresses the attendees. Image:D23table1.jpg|Gonzo, Fozzie, and Pepe... Image:D23pepelaughs.jpg|...meeting fans after the presentation. Around the Show Floor Displays on the show floor offered glimpses of upcoming Muppet merchandise as well as some Muppet memorabilia. Image:D23-MuppetComics.jpg|BOOM! Studios booth at the 2009 Expo Image:D23-Jim-Muppets-MegaPainting01.jpg|Jim Henson & The Muppets painting by Paul Madden at the 2009 Expo Image:D23-MML-Presentation.jpg|Muppet Mobile Lab display in the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts pavilion at the 2009 Expo Image:D23-MML-SignedPortrait.jpg|Signed Muppet Mobile Lab portrait at the 2009 Expo Image:D23-VinylmationDisplay.jpg|Vinylmation display at the 2009 Expo Image:D23-eFX-Kermit-And-Rizzo.jpg|eFX Inc. display at the 2009 Expo Image:Pookalooz1.jpg|Pook-a-Looz display at the 2009 Expo Image:D23-Macy'sGlamorama.jpg|Macy's Glamorama display at the 2009 Expo Image:D23-MuppetMayhem.jpg|Electric Mayhem giclées at the 2009 Expo D23 Expo 2011 .]] The second D23 Expo was held in Anaheim, California, August 19-21, 2011. Disney Legends Ceremony The 2011 Disney Legends Ceremony took place Friday, August 19, where Jim Henson was named a Disney Legend. A montage of some of Jim Henson's work was shown, the walk-around Sweetums helped present his award and Lisa and Brian Henson gave speeches. In addition, Brian and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph performed Stuffed and Unstrung's version of "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face." Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog made a surprise appearance, performing a live rendition of "Rainbow Connection", inviting the audience to sing along. Image:D23Expo-BackstagePhoto-MissPiggy-Kermit-Rowlf-(2011-08-19).jpg|Backstage with Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog on August 19, 2011. Image:D23-LisaHenson-JimHensonDisneyLegends-(2011-08-19).jpg|Lisa Henson at the Disney Legends ceremony Image:D23-LisaHenson-(2011-08-19).jpg Image:D23-BrianHenson-JimHensonDisneyLegends-(2011-08-19).jpg|Brian Henson at the Disney Legends ceremony Image:D23-I'veGrownAccustomedToYourFace-(2011-08-19).jpg|"I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" performance Image:D23-RainbowConnection-Kermit-Rowlf-(2011-08-19).jpg|Kermit and Rowlf Image:D23-RainbowConnection02-Kermit-Rowlf-(2011-08-19).jpg Image:D23-RainbowConnection03-Kermit-Rowlf-TomBergeron-(2011-08-19).jpg|Kermit and Rowlf with Tom Bergeron Image:D23-Lisa-Brian-SweetumsWalkAround-(2011-08-19).jpg|Lisa and Brian Henson with the Sweetums walk-around Inside the Walt Disney Studios On Saturday, August 20, Jason Segel, Kermit, and Miss Piggy were scheduled to make an appearance at the Walt Disney Studios arena presentation to promote The Muppets.The Walt Disney Studios Takes Fans Behind the Scenes at the D23 Expo August 9, 2011 (archived) Jason and Kermit were sitting on stage, while Piggy arrived a few moments later on a motorcycle. They then presented two clips from the movie. Media highlights reel of presentation; ) Image:D23-WaltDisneyStudiosArena-TheMuppets-(2011-08-20).jpg|Walt Disney Studios arena presentation Image:D23-WaltDisneyStudios-Kermit-Segel-(2011-08-20).jpg|Kermit, Jason Segel, and Miss Piggy (in motorcycle sidecar) File:D23 2011 Segel Piggy Kermit motorcycle.jpg File:D23 2011 Segel Piggy Kermit.jpg Around the Show Floor Image:StandeeMuppetsD23.JPG|''The Muppets'' standee at the Walt Disney Studios pavilion Image:StudiosMuppetsD23.JPG|Sign in the Walt Disney Studios pavilion Image:KermithatsD23.JPG|Kermit paper hats in the Collectors Forum Image:AnimalpaintD23.JPG|Animal artwork in the Collectors Forum Image:MuppetsnailpolishD23.JPG|Muppet nail polish... Image:PiggynailpolishD23.JPG|...in the Disney Living pavilion Image:MuppetsArtD23.JPG|Muppets art in the Collectors Forum Image:MuppetsVinylD23.JPG|Muppet Vinylmation in the Collectors Forum Image:Hallmark-FozzieOrnament-2012.jpg|2012 Hallmark Christmas ornament announced at D23 Dick Van Dyke & The Vantastix Also on August 19, Dick Van Dyke appeared in a musical presentation and performed songs with The Vantastix. Among their songs was a Sesame Street medley, which included the "Sesame Street Theme", "The People in Your Neighborhood", "Rubber Duckie", "Bein' Green" and "I Love Trash." D23′s Muppet-acular Mayhem at D Street On November 17, 2011, D23 held a Muppet-acular Mayhem at D Street event exclusively for D23 members and their guests at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California for the debut of new Muppet clothing, original artwork, and skate decks. There were light refreshments and a live DJ. D23's Disney and Dickens On December 5 & 6, 2011, D23 held their Disney and Dickens event for its members at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California. Some of Disney's classic Christmas films were screened, including The Muppet Christmas Carol. D23's The Muppets Take Disney Store Manhattan On November 27, 2012, D23 held a The Muppets Take Disney Store Manhattan event at the Disney Store in Times Square, New York City. A limited number of D23 members had the chance to meet and have their photos taken Kermit the Frog and Pepe the King Prawn, and got a 15% discount on store merchandise. There was also some Muppet trivia from the Disney store crew.The Muppets Take Disney Store Manhattan November 6, 2012 (archived) D23 Expo 2013 The third D23 Expo was held in Anaheim, California August 9-11, 2013. Muppets Most Wanted actor Ty Burrell, and producer Todd Lieberman were in attendance to promote. During a promotional presentation on August 10, Burrell drove Le Maximum onto the stage. File:D23-TyBurrell&ToddLieberman-(2013-08-10).jpg|Ty Burrell & Todd Lieberman File:D23-TyBurrell&JohnLasseter-(2013-08-10).jpg|Ty Burrell & John Lasseter File:D23-LeMaximum01-(2013-08-21).jpg| File:MuppetsMostWanted-D23.jpg| File:D23-LeMaximum02-(2013-08-21).jpg| File:D23-LeMaximum03-(2013-08-21).jpg| D23 Expo 2015 To promote the premiere of The Muppets on ABC, D23 hosted a panel with the Muppets consisting of Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Matt Vogel, and Bill Barretta with Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Floyd, Pepe, Rowlf, Uncle Deadly, Animal, Rizzo, Pokey, a bunny, and two Whatnots. Whitmire led a brief puppetry class for four audience members, and the panel fielded questions from a moderator and the audience. (Transcript) D23 2015 Dave Goelz Gonzo.jpg D23 2015 Eric Jacobson Animal.jpg D23 2015 Eric Jacobson Fozzie.jpg D23 2015 Matt Vogel Floyd.jpg D23 2015 Steve Whitmire Rizzo.jpg Rowlf-Trump.jpg D23 2015 Bill Barretta Pepe.jpg Muppets-Panel.jpg D23 puppeteer demo Pokey.jpg D23 puppeteer demo Deadly Kermit.jpg D23 puppeteer demo bunny Steve.jpg D23 puppeteer demo bunny whatnot.jpg D23 puppeteer demo Deadly Brittany Kermit.jpg D23 puppeteer demo wide shot.jpg D23 Expo 2019 On August 23, 2019, Kermit the Frog appeared in a teaser video announcing the new short-form series Muppets Now during the Disney+ panel. On August 24, Kermit hosted the Q&A panel for the Disney Channel animated series Amphibia and Big City Greens.Meet Your Favorite Disney Channel Stars at D23 Expo 2019 June 18, 2019 Uncle Deadly made a surprise appearance at a panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Haunted Mansion. Deadly played the role of the Ghost Host in a dramatic reading of an early script for the attraction. On August 25, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker appeared from Muppet Labs in a prerecorded video screened during the National Geographic Brain Games panel.Keegan-Michael Key Plays Some Lively Brain Games August 25, 2019 Sources External links * Official site * D23's YouTube channel __NOWYSIWYG__ Category:Live Appearances Category:The Muppets (2011) Promotion